Namma Metro unveils first look of driverless, Chinese train for Yellow Line

Bengaluru: Namma Metro has just unveiled the first look of its maiden driverless, Chinese-made train.

The six coaches reached the Hebbagodi depot in southern Bengaluru on February 14 after a week-long road journey from Chennai.

They were lowered onto the rails at the depot two days later. And on Tuesday, they were coupled to form the full trainset, according to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

The train will be deployed on the 19.15-km Yellow Line, which will link RV Road with Bommasandra via Jayadeva Hospital, Silk Board Junction and Electronics City.

The train will undergo 8-10 static tests at the depot under the supervision of engineers from the Chinese manufacturer CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, which won a Rs 1,578-crore contract in 2019 to supply 216 coaches to the BMRCL.

An official source in the BMRCL told DH that five Chinese engineers had reached Bengaluru and 10 more were expected by the end of this month.

Many other tests, including those on the mainline, will begin in March before the train is subjected to statutory safety tests.

System integration tests with signalling, telecommunications and power supply systems will be carried out parallelly, according to the BMRCL.

The statutory safety tests include oscillation trials by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). Based on approvals from the RDSO and the CMRS, technical approval from the Railway Board will be obtained before the trains are introduced for revenue service, the BMRCL added.

This train is equipped with the Command Based Train Control (CBTC) that allows it to run at a frequency of 90 seconds. It also comes with Unattended Train Operations (UTO), Enhanced Supervision Capability from the Operations Control Centre (OCC), Track Monitoring System, Hot Axle Detection System, Obstacle and Derailment Detection System, etc.

The BMRCL said it would receive the remaining 14 trains (84 coaches) from CRRC's local partner Titagarh Rail Systems Limited in a phased manner. These trains will be subjected to routine tests and introduced in a phased manner for revenue service, it added.